Mar 22, 2026 11:23am IST
‘Project Hail Mary’ Eyes Massive $80 Million Opening, To Become Second Biggest Non Franchise Debut After ‘Oppenheimer’
“Project Hail Mary” is off to a strong start in the West, eyeing a whopping $80.6 million in its opening run. The film witnessed a massive Sunday, collecting $27.1 million, just 18 percent below its Friday previews of $33.1 million, resulting in an impressive overall total. This places the film just behind “Oppenheimer” in terms of openings of this scale.
According to Deadline, the Lord and Miller directorial, backed by Amazon MGM Studios, this will be the second biggest domestic start for a non franchise film after Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” which earned $82.4 million. It will also become the biggest opening for any non franchise film in March, surpassing the previous record held by Jordan Peele’s “Us,” which collected $71 million.
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Interestingly, Ryan Gosling’s “Project Hail Mary” is following a box office trajectory similar to “Oppenheimer.” The Nolan directorial had earned $33 million from Friday previews but saw a dip on Saturday, collecting $26.3 million. Meanwhile, “Project Hail Mary” marks the best ever domestic opening for Amazon MGM Studios and the biggest opening for directors Lord and Miller. For Ryan Gosling, this is his second biggest opening after the massive success of “Barbie,” which debuted at $162 million.
Meanwhile, “Project Hail Mary” is also facing competition in the US from the Indian film “Dhurandhar: The Revenge.” The Ranveer Singh led spy thriller has already outperformed “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” though the Ryan Gosling starrer remains the stronger performer at the box office.
“Project Hail Mary” is set to release in India on March 26, 2026.
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